A former City worker uploaded fake images of a colleague onto pornographic websites after she spurned his advances, a court heard today.
Davide Buccheri, 25, allegedly used social media images of the woman to mock up the photos, which he then posted on X-rated sites.
City of London magistrates’ court heard Buccheri used the pseudonym “Flying Gerbil” to post the images in April this year.
Buccheri and the woman both worked at M&G Investments, one of Europe’s top investment fund management firms. He is accused of alerting the firm’s HR department to the pictures, in a bid “to discredit her and cause her distress and anxiety”.
Buccheri, who has a masters degree from the London School of Economics, joined the company’s graduate scheme in September 2015.
Prosecutor Sonya Foxsmith said: “He made romantic advances towards her which were rejected.”
Buccheri, in a black suit and blue tie, today denied harassing his co-worker between September last year and May this year. Ms Foxsmith said Buccheri uploaded “pornographic images of other females of similar build” which were “edited and cropped” to look like the woman. She said they were put in a gallery on an X-rated website alongside genuine pictures of the alleged victim.
“These galleries were then revealed to the company’s HR department by Mr Buccheri,” said Ms Foxsmith.
Buccheri, who worked on consumer risk and aircraft financing, has written online that he left M&G in August this year. He gave an address in Bologna, Italy, as he pleaded not guilty to a charge of harassment.
Magistrate Julie Baldwin freed him on bail on the condition he does not contact the alleged victim or anyone who works at M&G, until a trial on December 21.
